Benign Symmetric Lipomatosis

Abstract

Madelung's disease, or benign symmetric lipomatosis (BSL), is a disease that is rarely reported in the English language dermatology literature; I was unable to find an American dermatologic journal reference in the past decade. The disease represents the symmetrical deposition of adipose tissue over the head, neck, upper part of the trunk, and proximal part of the upper extremities, while the lower part of the trunk and the legs are typically unaffected. The patients are characteristically not otherwise obese. Since the patient described herein came to a dermatology clinic for assistance, perhaps dermatologists should be reminded of this entity. <h3>Report of a Case</h3> A 62-year-old man came to the Geisinger Medical Center Department of Dermatology with a 13-year history of multiple masses on the head, neck, and upper part of the body. There had been a slow and progressive enlargement of most of the lesions, while a few seemed to